It’s important to have friends you can rely on in life, even if it’s only once a year. The Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s opening production for the community theater’s 56th season is The Dixie Swim Club, which follows a group of college friends who meet on the same weekend in August every year at a beachside cabin in North Carolina.
The five women—who all met on their university swim team—are vastly different characters with separate lives, but they always come together to laugh, relax, and help each other through the difficult patches of their lives.
As director for the production, Dixie Arthur mentioned in her director’s note that The Dixie Swim Club is a play about Southerners but free from the mocking stereotypes that writers can easily fall into. Writers Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten definitely set out to make a play about people who just so happen to be from the South.
The first character we meet is Sheree Hollinger (Irene Dahman), who is busy preparing the humble seaside cabin for her friends’ arrival. Sheree is spooked by early-comer Lexi Richards (Amytra), who surprises Sheree with an unwelcome Polaroid photo op. The two spend a little while catching up, which establishes that this isn’t the first, but the 22nd year that the Dixie Swim Club has met for its annual weekend.
One by one the rest of the girls arrive, each bringing their own unique character and personal bombshell to drop on the group. Vernadette Simms (Leslie Franklin) arrives with her arm in a sling, bolting for the bathroom. Behind her is Dinah Grayson (Jo Grande) whose bags barely touch the floor before she pours herself a drink. Just these four exhibit an entertaining interplay of catching up and playful ribbing before they begin wondering about their last comrade, Jeri Neal (Angi Herrick), who their conversation reveals has been a nun for many years.
When Jeri enters, she blows all her friends away, not because she isn’t wearing her habit, but because her distended belly shows that she is obviously pregnant. While the rest of the party is definitely surprised at Jeri’s lifestyle change, Jeri can’t help but wonder why the usually suspicious group isn’t asking more questions.
“Well, don’t y’all want to know what happened?” she asks.
“We know how it happened,” Vernadette replies plainly.
The Dixie Swim Club is chock full of hilarious one-liners and quips. The range of personality between the five women allows for plenty of back and forth. Whether it’s Lexie’s skill at flirting and getting divorced, or Sheree’s micro managing—she was the swim team captain—the depiction offers a realistic portrayal of a group of longtime friends. Each actor plays their character well, giving a sense of depth to a roomful of ladies reminiscing and sharing.
As soon as the first scene ends, it transitions into the next, which takes place at the same cabin, with the same friends, only five years later. Overall, the play includes four scenes from four different times, and the characters show more age maturity in the way they relate within each consecutive scene. Whether the group is fighting, going for a group swim, or just trying to beat the heat, their playful banter and heartfelt friendship make for an edifying evening at the theater. The Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s no frills style does wonders with this play, allowing the actors to really explore the characters and the dynamic range of emotions friendship inspires.
Arts Editor Joe Payne laughed, cheered, and cried. Contact him at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 18-25, 2014.